La Liga’s Icelandic Penalty Ace Linked To Norwich And Everton

Alfreð Finnbogason is being linked with a move to the Premier League, and considering his current boss David Moyes’ links with Everton, it seems likely that the Icelandic international would be making a loan move to Merseyside in the near future. However, Norwich have been linked with the twenty-six year old, who was once averaging close to a goal a game for Heerenveen in the Eredivisie. Since his move to La Real, Finnbogason has flopped and only netted twice in twenty-three appearances, certainly not proving his supposed €7.5m transfer fee to be worth it.

Scoring 117 goals in 149 games before his doomed spell in Spain proves that Finnbogason has that finisher’s instinct, yet – much like Ricky van Wolfswinkel – it seems that not every prolific striker from the Dutch leagues can be successful elsewhere. Whilst both are internationals, Finnbogason has turned out comparatively more than van Wolfswinkel has for their respective national sides, yet a rather poor goal ratio of one in five for the Icelandic striker is unlikely to offer inspiration and a cause for excitement. Comparisons between The Wolf and Finnbogason can be drawn due to the transfer fee, the lack of goals since a transfer and the impeccable penalty ability, so therefore it would be very unlikely that – if van Wolfswinkel returns to Norwich – there would be two non-scoring strikers at the club, leaving Finnbogason open to a move to Everton.

The Toffees interest in Finnbogason will only be strengthened by the fact that the current Real Sociedad boss is David Moyes, with the Scotsman keen to help out his old side in any way. Whether Finnbogason’s arrival would help or hinder Everton, however, is still to be seen.

As Finnbogason has only recently arrived in San Sebastián, it will be similar if not exactly the same as van Wolfswinkel’s situation this time last year. In an attempt to reinvigorate the striker and help him re-find his form, La Real will be more likely to be open to a loan move rather than a permanent switch, hoping that the hotshot can discover his scoring boots that helped him to net the top scorer award in the Eredivisie in 2013-14 with twenty-nine goals.